In rec.food.cooking, Doug Freyburger > wrote:

> It depends on your use. Around 8 years ago I got an assortment of
> hard anodized Magnalite pans. One was a sauteeing pan. After about
> 10 trips through the washer, its fine surface had been etched enough
> to seriously interfere with its "stick resistance". For a saucepan
> that would be no big deal but it was the death knell for a sauteeing
> pan.

> > And what happens if the anodized coating gets eaten through, anyway?

> Eventually it gets down to the metalic aluminum underneath and it
> becomes just like any other cheaper pan.

> The strength of the hard anodized coating is it is mechanically HARD.
> It is the same chemical as sapphire (or was it garnet). Extremely
> hard so it lasts and lasts. If you use stainless steel spatula you
> can end up wearing down the stainless steel and getting marks on the
> pan that are actually stainless steel scraped off of the spatula.

> Unfortunately the weakness of the hard anodized coating is that it
> is not particularly resistant to either bases or acids. Put it
> through the dishwasher enough and the basic detergent will gradually
> etch the surface down. Cook enough tomatoes and the acidic sauce
> will gradually etch the surface down.

Excellent info. Thanks, Doug. So sapphires (or is it garnets?) are made
of aluminum ozide? I never knew that.

I've used my new pans a few times since I got them. I like them a lot. I
like the fact that they are very simple, being just machined aluminum with
a handle riveted on, and that the utility comes from the design, rather
than from gimmicks. They distribute the heat well, and because of the
design, the handles stay quite cool. Now that I know the properties of the
anodized coating, I think that is pretty cool too.

I looked at some other Calphalon pans in a store, and the surface isn't
nearly as smooth as it is on these. The cutting lathe used on the other
line must be set coarser, in order to cut faster and keep production costs
down. These are simply well made.

Thanks too to whoever pointed out that the whole line is being
discontinued by Calphalon. I'm going to go to some kitchen stores to see
what other sizes I can find cheap. This seems like a rare opportunity to
get some good quality stuff at blowout prices. Normally, for $20, you can
get a merely OK pot, rather than an excellent one. At the "regular"
prices listed at Amazon, I'd never have bought these.

--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who